How to Clean a Moldy Washing Machine

8/30/2022 (Permalink)

Take preventative measures in your washing machine

It's natural to assume that our washing machine is self-cleaning, especially with all that soap and warm water tumbling around. However, this isn't always the case. Your laundry machine actually has a pretty high risk of falling victim to mold growth, especially if you don't take the proper preventative measures. Follow these steps if your laundry machine in Waterloo, OK, has an unwanted mold smell.

Getting Rid of the Mold

Luckily, mold is extremely easy to clean out of a laundry machine. Just follow these steps:

• Create a non-toxic, mold cleaning mixture using equal parts baking soda and freshwater. 1/4 of each product should suffice. Add this cleaning solution to the machine's detergent container.
• Pour two cups of white vinegar directly into the drum itself.
• Run a normal wash cycle on the highest heat setting possible. Make sure you don't have any clothes in the washer for this specific cycle.
• After the cycle ends, use a kitchen sponge or scrub brush to attack any remaining patches of mold. Use a mixture that contains equal parts of white vinegar and fresh water for this process.
  
  

Even if your washing machine isn't suffering from mold growth, it's still a good idea to repeat the above process at least once each month for maintenance purposes. After all, the best offense is a great defense.

Preventing Mold Growth
Once you've gotten rid of the mold that caused your musty, dirty laundry, you're going to want to keep it away. Prevent subsequent mold growth by keeping your machine's drum as dry as possible. This involves removing your laundry as soon as possible after the wash cycle ends and leaving the washer's door open to dry out when you aren't using the machine. You might also consider running a fan near the washer to help accelerate airflow.
Nothing ruins the excitement of laundry day quite like a moldy washing machine. Using the above technique should solve the problem, but if it doesn't then you need to contact mold remediation experts for further help.